"More than five million Azeris in the now independent, former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan (three-quarters of the population) and twelve million Azeris in the Azerbaijan province in northern Iran are Shi'ites. "

"It has been established that Mani was familiar with the views of the Mandeans, a baptist sect still existing in Iraq, most probably originating from Palestine and possibly then living in southern Babylonia. "

"Manicheism was a gnostic, dualistic religion, founded by a Babylonian prince of Persian origin named Mani, who was born in 216 AD. According to the Fihrist of the Arabic author An Nadim, when Mani was 12 years old God sent an angel called at-Taum (twin) to him, ordering him to leave the ascetic sect to which his father belonged. When Mani was 24, this same angel appeared to him and told him that now the time had come to appear in public and proclaim hisown doctrine.... "

"Manicheism was... founded by a Babylonian prince of Persian origin named Mani, who was born in 216 AD. According to the Fihrist of the Arabic author An Nadim, when Mani was 12 years old God sent an angel called at-Taum (twin) to him, ordering him to leave the ascetic sect to which his father belonged... It has been established that Mani was familiar with the views of the Mandeans, a baptist sect still existing in Iraq, most probably originating from Palestine and possibly then living in southern Babylonia. It seems plausible that the sect of the Mughtasila (Baptists) to which Mani's father belonged, was a sort of Mandean or Proto-Mandean sect. The difficulty is that the Mughtasila are said to ahve been strongly encratitic, whereas the Mandeans are not, and never seem to have been. Moreover it is not certain that the Mandeans, now a gnostic sect, were already then gnostic to the same extent as they are now. "

"Location: Bahamas; Population: 272,000 "; "Most Bahamians are Christian: Baptists account for about 33% of the population, while Roman Catholics and Anglicans account for about 20% each. It is not unusual for Bahamians to attend services at their own church and others as well. "

"Figures are for BWA affiliated conventions/unions only (no independents included). "; Table with 3 columns: Country, "Churches ", & "Members "; "1997/1998 Totals "; [BWA stats. in individual countries are sum of figures for member bodies of BWA in the countries.]; [County population figures for 1998 from United Nations data available here.]

Table: World Jewry. "collected our data from from demographic and other academic studies, community reports, and up-dates in the general media... consulted with experts to verify findings before reaching our assessments and estimates. "

"On more remote islands, 'Obeah,' or voodoo, brough from Africa by slaves, is still practiced. The visitor is unlikely to see any voodoo ceremonies, for they are usually held secretly at night in rural areas. Often these early African rites have been combined with Christian ceremonials. "

Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% "; Protestant "includes all non-Roman Catholic denominations "

"The first Europeans who settled in the Bahamas came seeking religious freedom. While the Anglican Church is the official church of state, there are no religious restrictions of any kind. Most Bahamians are devout, and much of the social life... centers around its churches, including Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian Science, Pentecostal, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran and Church of God congregations. There are also several Jewish synagogues and a growing Muslim community. On more remote islands, 'Obeah'... is still practiced. "

We are always striving to increase the accuracy and usefulness of our website. We are happy to hear from you. Please submit questions, suggestions, comments, corrections, etc. to: webmaster@adherents.com.